Well, the long and short of it is that the world's
tallest man met the world's shortest man for the first time
Thursday in London, England.
Sultan Kosen, a towering 8 feet, three inches tall (2.5m) shook
hands with Chandra Bahadur Dangi, just 21.5 inches tall (55 cm) at
St. Thomas' Hospital as part of Guinness World Records Day and the
60th anniversary of Guinness World Records.
"I love London and to be able to finally meet Chandra after all
this time is amazing," Kosen said. "Even though he is short and I
am tall, we have had similar struggles throughout our lives and
when I look into Chandra's eyes, I can see he's a good man."
Kosen is 31 years old, and hails from Turkey. Dangi is 75 and
comes from Nepal.
"I'm honoured to be in London," Dangi said. "I've always wanted
to visit and the fact I get to meet Sultan is special."
On top of being the tallest man in the world, Kosen also holds
Guinness records for the largest hands at 27.5 cm, and the largest
feet at 36.5 cm. His growth resulted from a tumour affecting his
pituitary gland and often must use crutches to walk.
Some 600,000 people around the world took part in events to
celebrate Guinness World Record Day. A group in London set a record
for the largest gathering of people dressed as penguins and French
dancers broke a record for the largest number of cancan kicks in 30
seconds.
